Darkening Skies
by KittyDaydreamer
Summary: Which parts are dream and which parts are vision? A Sailor Uranus oneshot fic for her birthday. A companion to Dreams of Destruction. Sets the stage for the future sequel of Dominos.


Disclaimer: I do not profit from this story, Sailor moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi and Toei.

Warnings: brief mention of blood, angst and a woman that loves another woman. If any of these things bother you turn back now before it's too late.

Do I even need to say that this is part of the Lonely Fire universe? It's going to tie in with a fic I'm planning, a sequel to Dominos. :)

Helena is pronounced Hel-lay-nuh, Maria is pronounced Mah-ree-yah, not Muh-ree-yuh.

* * *

><p><span>Darkening Skies<span>

It's night, and in a warm home three people are sleeping. There should be four. However, the location of the fourth family member is not our concern, for today at least. In one room, a girl is sleeping fitfully, but her story of this night has already been told. In the other occupied room, a couple sleeps in a king-sized bed. Two women, one with short, warm blonde hair, the other with mid-length, wavy, ocean-blue hair. The blonde, Haruka, tosses and turns in her sleep. She's moved away from her lover, Michiru. In her dreaming mind, there is confusion and chaos.

Blackness, spreading through cracks in the earth, created by earthquakes. Unnatural earthquakes. The wind is screaming. Darkness. Darkness hiding, growing. A crystal key, hidden in a tomb. Seeing Neptune as Sailor Neptune for the first time. The little girl in the other room, Sailor Saturn, coming to destroy it all. Sailor Pluto leaving them behind to the end. Setsuna. Setsuna is missing. Sailor Pluto is missing. A crystal key, hidden in a tomb. Darkness. Darkness spreading through the earth. The sky, screaming, trying to escape the earth's corruption. Disharmony, spreading like a virus from person to person. People going missing, picking fights. Sailor Moon, watching helplessly. A crystal key, hidden in a tomb.

"Yes, Sailor Uranus, remember. Remember. There is something you must remember." A familiar voice, warm, selfless. Giving everything and asking for nothing in return. Ropes, binding her wings. She had hoped that she would be the one to cause change. Her hopes were disappointed. Warm hands, comforting on her shoulder as she cried, for the first and only time, over her cruel fate. It was all she could do. Her wings were tied. "It's coming. You need to remember."

The voice is calming, and it clears some of the confusion in Haruka's mind. Her mind spirals into memories. Younger days, before her mother died. She was the sole princess of Uranus. A tomboy. The outer senshi always inherited their pedestals from their mothers, there were never enough outer planet royals. The outer senshi never lived long enough to have more than one child. When she was young, she and Princess Neptune spent most of their time together. They didn't mean to fall in love, they knew what their fates would be. Once they became senshi, they would never be able to meet again. Still, Princess Uranus felt lonely, and so did Princess Neptune. Uranus felt the pressure of being a princess clashing with her fiercely independent nature. When Uranus felt conflicted, Neptune would play for her. When Neptune felt lonely, Uranus would romance her. A connection so natural it could not be denied. A marriage of the sea and sky. They were so similar in their isolation, the expectations they had to live up to, they wore matching armor around their hearts. They were connected to each other, through a bond made of things older than anyone living could remember.

Darkness. Uranus's mother died in battle. The space sword of Uranus appears at her side. They could still see each other, because Princess Neptune was not yet Sailor Neptune, but they knew it was only a matter of time. The rulers of the other planets were pressuring Uranus to have a child. They didn't care how. It was Uranus and Neptune against the universe and it made them cold. Queen Serenity wanted to help them but she was trapped on her throne. A crystal key, hidden in a tomb. The confusion seeps back in. Uranus never knew her father. She didn't really care.

The last time she and Princess Neptune were together, they watched the sunset from Uranus, and Sailor Uranus played with Princess Neptune's hair. They kissed, and Neptune began to cry. The Deep Aqua Mirror appeared in her hand. Her mother was dead, and she was now Sailor Neptune. They could never meet again. The Queen teleported Sailor Neptune away, and it was the last time they saw each other at peace. A crystal key, hidden in a tomb. Haruka tosses and turns, her breath coming in short gasps. Michiru sleeps on, unaware of her lover's inner turmoil.

The outer planet royals were never given names. They were destined to be senshi and that was that. When they were young, Princesses Uranus and Neptune gave each other names in secret. Neptune named Uranus Helena, and Uranus named Neptune Maria. Haruka tosses and turns. The Queen's grave face, pinched in pain, giving her life to the crystal, to give them a chance at another life. Another chance at happiness. Seeing the destruction from afar, unable to do anything to help the Princess, the Queen. Uranus breaks her hand on her control panel. Haruka can still feel it sometimes, she broke that hand a lot. The servants running scared. Monsters. Monsters. A crystal key, hidden in a tomb. Eyes, eyes everywhere. "Are these words from the future?" Haruka asks, in a black void in her dream. It makes her angry. She'd break her hand again. Monsters. They were all monsters. The servants, the people, so long dead. Liars and deceivers. She can feel the weight of the key in her hand, like it belongs there.

Serenity's body. Neptune's tears. Neptune's blood, somehow on** her** hands. "Monster. Monster!" Her space sword at her side. Haruka tosses and turns, a cold sweat beading on her forehead, and creeping down her spine. "Which part is a dream, which part is a vision?" she asks the consuming, endless darkness. It laughs. It's the laughter of death incarnate. Cruel, uncaring, cold.

Her tossing and turning brings her back into contact with Michiru. Michiru jolts, and begins to toss and turn. Haruka relaxes and breathes easier, her nightmare replaced by pleasant memories.

Princess Serenity's birth. She could only watch from her planet, alone, but even as an infant, Serenity had the power to melt hearts, and Sailor Uranus felt like she was there. Anyone even mildly psychic could sense Serenity's birth. She came into the world like a ray of sunshine. She was a bright light, belonging to a future no-one could imagine. The universe became a warmer place when she joined it. She heralded change. Even though Sailor Uranus knew she could never meet Princess Serenity, she no longer felt so alone.

In her sleep, Haruka smiles. Michiru struggles with nightmares of her own, but that is a story for another time.

* * *

><p>What's the deal with the crystal key? It shall become clear, in time. Muwahahahahahahahah! (Yes, it involves the shitennou. relax)<p> 


End file.
